Eyes Brighter Than The Ocean
by capitolexpectations
Summary: Modern Day AU. Katniss is dreading her summer vacation. One month with 6 other girls who are only interested in getting drunk and meeting boys seems like her worst nightmare, until she meets fellow holiday maker Peeta Mellark and everything changes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_Hey! This is my second Everlark fic, I realise it's kind of OOC but oh well...I hope you enjoy! _

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of it's characters (I wish).**

Madge squealed in excitement as the plane took of from the runway. I tried not to roll my eyes, already I was beginning to regret agreeing to the trip.  
When Madge suggested we spend our summer vacation in Ibiza at her parents villa with friends from college I was apprehensive. The other people coming with us were really her friends, I only knew most of them by sight.  
"Are you feeling okay Katniss?" Made asked, around twenty minutes into the flight. "You look a little green."  
I had never been on a plane before, and it was the first time I had left the small town of Ohio, where I'm from.  
"Yeah I'm fine, this is just my first time on a plane so I'm feel kinda queasy." I looked around the crowded plane. "Is there a bathroom?"  
"Yeah there's one at the back. Want me to walk you?" She offered, looking concerned.  
I shook my head. "It's fine, I can manage."  
I unbuckled my seat belt and awkwardly walked down the aisle, feeling self conscious as most of the other passengers turned to watch me. There was a boy waiting outside the bathroom, looking bored.  
"Hey." he said, smiling at me warmly.  
"Hi." I replied, not in the mood to talk. Standing on the plane was even worse than sitting.  
"Are you okay?" the boy asked, sounding more concerned than a stranger should.  
"Yeah, just feeling a little travel sick, this is my first time flying." I explained.  
"Ah," he nodded sympathetically. "You can go before me."  
"What?"  
"To the bathroom, you can go in front of me if you don't feel good." the boy explained kindly.  
"Oh thanks," I smile shyly. "What's taking so long?"  
The boy looks embarrassed. "Um one of my friends is in there with one of the girls from your group."  
"What are they doing?" I ask dumbly.  
He looks at me suspiciously, as if trying to work out if I'm making fun of him.  
"Oh." I blush furiously as I finally realise. "Wow."  
The boy laughs, "We have very classy friends."  
I join in, although I feel like a complete idiot.  
"I'm Peeta by the way." he holds his hand out.  
"I'm Katniss." I say as I shake it.  
Finally the door opens and a large blonde boy walks out, grinning smugly. He looks from Peeta then to me. "Ooh Peeta, you going to join the mile high club too?" he winks at me.  
"Shut up Cato, don't be an ass."  
Cato's grin grows even wider as Madge's friend Glimmer emerges from the bathroom behind him, fixing her scruffy hair. She leans forward and whispers something in Cato's ear and they hurry down the aisle laughing.  
Peeta rolls his eyes at me. "Sorry about him."  
I shrug. I had heard rumours about Glimmer being the school slut. That was another reason I was unsure about the vacation, I had no interest in boys, I was too busy focusing on school and helping mom with Prim, whereas the other girls in the group were boy crazy.  
Peeta holds the bathroom door open for me and I go in, I look in the small mirror at myself. My hair is frizzy and falling out of the braid I hurriedly plaited on the way to the airport and my eyes are tired looking. I quickly redo my hair then splash my face with water. That's better. I nod my approval at my reflection then unlock the door.  
Peeta beams when I walk out. "Hey, where are you and your friends staying?" he asks.  
I tell him about Madge's fathers villa and he explains his group will be staying in a villa less than five minutes away. "We should meet up." he suggests hopefully.  
I nod, then start to wall away. I suddenly remember what Cato says and turn back.  
"Hey Peeta?" I call.  
"Yeah Katniss?" He replies, opening the door.  
"What's the mile high club?" I ask sincerely. "It sounds kind of cool, I would love to join it." I was already a member of the archery and rock climbing clubs at school.  
"Oh Katniss you're hilarious!" he laughs, going back into the bathroom.  
I walk down the aisle to my seat beside Madge and her friend Delly, feeling confused.  
"Who was that guy you were talking to? He was totally hot!" Delly asks eagerly.  
"Oh his name was Peeta, his friends are staying near us." I explain.  
"Ooh...!" Delly wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at me, and I blush furiously.  
"Hey Madge? What's the mile high club?" I ask nervously, unsure if I want to hear the answer.  
Madge and Delly exploded into to fits of laughter. "Are you serious?" Madge asks.  
I want to ground to swallow me up as they explain to me. They are literally crying as I repeat what I said to Peeta.  
"Oh my god Katniss! I thought you were quiet but here you are, asking guys to have sex with you in aeroplanes!" Delly teases.  
Just at that moment Peeta walks past us, on his way back to his seat from the bathroom.  
"Hey, Katniss." He winks at me, grinning.  
"Ugh, kill me now." I groan, sinking down my seat.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Massive thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I loved writing it! It contains socially awkward KatnissI which was so much fun to write!

"We have now landed in Ibiza, thank you for flying with us today. We hope you enjoy your vacation."  
Beside me, Madge and Delly are cheering and clapping enthusiastically. I cringe and unbuckle my seatbelt, trying to distance myself from them. I reach up and pull my small holdall down from the overhead luggage compartment then join the queue to leave the plane.

The sun outside is a scorching yellow and the sky is a piercing blue. "What do we do now?" I ask Madge.  
"Passport control then we have to collect our luggage, then we'll get a taxi to the villa. I'm so excited for you all to see it!" she beams.  
I allow her a small smile then reluctantly follow as the rest of our group runs to passport control. As we wait for their suitcases they cannot believe it when I tell them the holdall is all I have with me.  
It takes around forty minutes to collect all of the girls luggage, then we spend an excruciating hour in a tiny taxi to get to the villa. Glimmer is forced to sit on my knee during the taxi ride, causing me to have a red face for the whole journey as I remember what she did with Cato in the plane bathroom.  
"Here we are!" Madge squeals as we pull into a large driveway.  
The villa is a large, modern looking building, covered in white stone. Madge gives us a quick tour, showing us the large living and dining area, all of our bedrooms and the beautiful swimming pool, before Clove orders we all go to the beach.  
I head to the room I have been assigned (the smallest in the villa) and change into my old black swimming suit and a pair of three quarter length pants. Within five minutes I am back in the living room, waiting for the others. They are dressed in skimpy bikini's and are all looking at my outfit in disgust.  
Octavia almost has a heart attack when she sees. "Katniss! What the hell is this?"  
I flush, crossing my arms in front of my chest self consciously. "It's my bathing suit."  
"Oh honey, we cannot be seen with you looking like that." Octavia tuts.  
I know I should feel offended but I just feel like laughing at how distraught she sounds.  
"You look about the same size as me, come on, I'll find you something." Octavia says as she holds her hand out to me.  
"Why do I need to get changed? It's not like anyone's going to be looking at me!" I protest.  
"Peeta will probably be there..." Madge says slyly. I glare at her and she smirks back.  
"Oh my god! Who's Peeta?" squeals Clove.  
I blush furiously and say nothing, staring at the ground.  
"He was on the plane, he was seriously hot and it seemed like he liked Katniss!" Delly grins.  
"Well he won't like her if he sees her dressed like that." Johanna says, grimacing at my outfit. "It looks like something a nun would wear to the beach."  
"Now now Johanna! Don't be mean, I'll sort her out!" Octavia grins kindly at me, as if she is addressing a child or small animal. I reluctantly follow her up into her bedroom where she orders me to strip.  
She gasps when she looks at me. "Katniss honey, when was the last time you waxed?"  
I blush and try to cover myself, "Um I don't wax."  
"Yeah it's obvious." Octavia shakes her head at me sadly.  
"This will take longer than I thought."  
It takes twenty minutes for Octavia to painfully wax and pluck every hair from my body that she disapproves of. Afterwards she quickly moisturised me then flings an orange bikini at me and orders me to put it on. She claps her hands excitedly. "Wait till the others see you!" she trills.  
She quickly pulls my hair out of it's simple braid and let's it flow naturally over my shoulders.  
She then grabs my hand and drags me into the living area where all the other girls -excluding Glimmer who stands in the corner glaring at me- surround me and congratulate Octavia.  
"Can we go already?" Glimmer huffs. "All the good spots will be taken."  
We leave the house and Madge happily grabs my arm. "You look awesome Katniss."  
"Thanks." I smile shyly back at her.  
It only takes five minutes to walk to the beach, and as Glimmer predicted, it is full.  
"There's a good spot!" she says, pointing to a patch of sand directly in the middle of the holidaymakers, seemingly oblivious to the numerous Disney beach towels already there.  
"I think this spot is taken." I say.  
She rolls her eyes at me and very slowly bends to pick the towels up and fling them away. "No it's not." she smirks.  
I bite my lip to stop myself from retaliating, I don't want to cause an awkward atmosphere. I reluctantly lie down beside Madge on one of the beach towels Delly pulls out of her beachbag.  
I lie in silence and after twenty minutes, can feel myself start to drift off when I hear Glimmer squeal.  
"There's Cato and his friends!" she beams, waving.  
Madge nudges me, "Peeta's with them!" she whispers.  
I sit upright and Peeta looks over at me. His face lights up and he waves at me, beaming. The boy beside him notices and shakes his head, smiling.  
"Hey." he mouths.  
I nod awkwardly back.  
"Hey girls." Cato says, grinning at us all. He is wearing a tight pair of swimming shorts and is standing with his chest puffed out, showing off his muscles. I roll my eyes, which I notice makes Peeta grin.  
"Mind if we join you?" he asks, winking at Glimmer.  
"Sure, you can sit with me." she simpers, making room on her towel for him.  
Peeta walks over to me and Madge with the boy standing beside him. "Hey Katniss!" Peeta smiles.  
"Hey." I reply, feeling embarrassed by my lack of clothing.  
"This is Finnick," he says gesturing to his friend, who smiles warmly at us.  
"Mind if we sit here? There are like no spots left." Peeta explains.  
"There's one right over there." I say, pointing to a spot right in front of us. Is he stupid?  
Madge rolls her eyes and kicks me. "No it's fine! I'm Madge by the way."  
They make polite small talk for a while then the both pull their tank tops off. I think every girl on the beach swoons when Finnick takes his off. He grins at me and winks, I ignore him and look at Peeta instead. He has a good body, a thick build with not too many muscles. I slowly look up and feel my face go red as Peeta is staring intently at me, smirking slightly. I look away, embarrassed to have been caught.  
"Hey, Katniss, I think there's an ice-cream stand further along, want to go get one?" Peeta asks, smiling hopefully at me.  
"No thanks, I have sensitive teeth so my mom says I shouldn't eat ice cream." I reply, earning myself another kick from Madge. "Ow! What was that for?" I complain.  
"You should accompany Peeta anyway."  
"Ugh fine." I groan, standing up reluctantly. Peeta beams and jumps up. Madge and Finnick are grinning at us in amusement. As we start to walk away I can feels eyes on us and I am suddenly aware of how tiny my bikini is. I clasp my hands behind my bottom self consciously.  
Peeta asks some simple questions about me, and I answer simply. It is too hot and the water is tauntingly sparkling in the sun. I had never swum in the ocean before, and I was tempted to run in right now, but I knew Madge would kill me if she found out if I ditched Peeta to go for a swim.  
"Katniss?" Peeta's voice cuts through my train of thought. "Did you hear me?"  
"What? Oh sorry no." I reply sheepishly.  
"Do you have a boyfriend?" He looks nervous as he asks.  
I shake my head. I had never had one before, everyone used to make jokes about how me and my friend Gale from back home were obviously going to get married, but I wasn't interested in boys, Prim was my main priority. "Do you have a girl friend?" I ask, not out of curiousity but to be polite.  
Peeta shakes his head and grins at me. "So we're both single?"  
I shrug, "Guess so." I look around. "Hey where's this ice cream sta-"  
I am cut off as Peeta crushes his mouth to mine and kisses me. I freeze, then nervously start to kiss him back.  
Okay, maybe I am a little interested in boys.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_thank you all so much for the follows! I'm so glad people are enjoyintithe story! This chapter isn't the best, but I promiseWTO make it up to you with the next! Will hopefully update !_

"Wow." Peeta beams.  
Again I'm not sure what to say, so I just look out into the water.  
"Was that okay for you?" he asks, looking concerned.  
"Yeah I suppose." I shrug. I think this is what Madge would call 'playing hard to get', she'll be proud when I tell her.  
The truth was the kiss was amazing. I had only ever been kissed once before in the 6th grade, when Marvel cornered me in the playground. It had resulted in me kicking him in the crotch and not being allowed to join in at game time, so this experience had went a lot better.  
"Oh..." Peeta looks crestfallen and I instantly feel guilty. I have no idea what to do to make him feel better, so I pat his shoulder awkwardly.  
"Want to go for a swim?" I offer. "I'm sweating so much right now it's disgusting."  
Peeta smiles again. "Sure." I think he tries to take my hand but I am already running towards the water.  
We swim around happily for about twenty minutes, before Peeta starts a splashing contest. I end up getting competitive and accidentally almost drown him at one point. As he is going under his arms flail around desperately and latch around the edge of my bikini top, pulling it down with him.  
"Peeta! Are you okay?" I shout. "Oh my god, I've killed him!" I cry, waving my arms for help.  
Peeta emerges from under the water, his hair soaking wet. His face goes bright red when he sees me. "Katniss, I'm so sorry I swear I didn't mean to!"  
"What?" I ask, confused. It was me who almost drowned him. He gestures wildly in the direction of my chest, it seems like he is fascinated by one of the clouds above my head.  
I look down and shout. "Where's my bikini? Oh god everyones looking!" everyone sitting on the sand in front of us was gasping at me, one creepy looking kid had even dropped his ice cream and had his camera out.  
"I'm sorry Katniss, when I went under I accidentally grabbed it." Peeta apologises, moving in front of me to block everyones view. I swear I can hear the creepy kid groan.  
"What am I going to do?" I wail.  
Peers puts his hand into his swim shorts.  
"Ugh Peeta! What are you doing? You disgusting pervert!" I yell, kicking his leg until the water.  
He yelps and pulls out his tank top. "I was just getting this! I had it tucked into the back of my shorts for if it got cold!" he explains defensively, handing the tank top to me.  
I quickly throw it on. "Thanks, sorry for calling you a pervert."  
Peeta smirks. "It's okay. We'll go back to the others then I'll walk you to your villa so you can change, okay?"  
I nod, and we swim back to the shore. The walk of shame past the people I flashed is painful, as mothers glare at me and men grin creepily and wink.  
When we get back to the group all of Peeta's friends cheer and congratulate him for getting me out of my clothes so quickly. He tells them to shut up, grabs my beach bag, whispers something to Finnick then gestures for me to go with him. Madge is staring at me with her mouth open, I just shrug and give a weak smile.  
We walk in silence back to the villa and I reflect on what had happened. I had my first real kiss, then flashed Peeta and a beach full of people. Ugh, I think to myself, I'm turning into Glimmer.  
I let us into the villa then leave Peeta in the living room as I go find clothes to borrow from Octavia, I hope she wouldn't mind. I put on some shorts and a vest top then head back down to Peeta.  
"Um here's your tank top. Thanks for letting me borrow it and I'm sorry for flashing you." I say awkwardly.  
"Oh, you have nothing to apologise for. Really." Peeta chuckles, causing me to blush. "So can I see you again Katniss?"  
"I don't mind. We'll probably run into each other again soon enough." I lift a notepad from the coffee table and scribble my number. "I suppose you can call me sometime."  
Peeta beams ear to ear and folds it like it's something precious. "Can I kiss you again?" he asks cautiously.  
I mumble uncoherantly and he leans in. When our lips touch it's like a lightning bolt runs through my body. The fish I had had for lunch must have been off, I decide.  
"The girls will probably be back soon, you should go." I say, I don't want them arriving when he's still here and interrogating him.  
"Okay, hopefully I'll see you tonight. Thank you for today, Katniss." he kisses me lightly on the cheek, then lets himself out.  
I lock the door then head up to my tiny room. Just as I lay on the bed my phone vibrates from under my pillow, indicating a new text. It is from a unknown number and I can't help but grin, knowing it's from Peeta.  
"Hey Katniss, it's Peeta." I roll my eyes at the screen, who else would it be? "I left the tank top on your doorstep, i want you to keep it, it looks better on you anyway;) see you soon..."  
I groan and fling the phone down on the bed beside me. A wink face? And why was he leaving me clothes? Does he this I look poor? I would have to ask Madge how to reply, this was all far too stressful for me.  
I decide to sleep until the girls come back and my last thought before I fall over is how Peeta's eyes were almost an identical shade to the ocean, but his seemed to shine even brighter.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** _thank you so much for the reviews/follows! This chapter is a lor darker, but it helps move Katniss and Peeta's relationship along, so I hope you don't mind! Enjoy!_

It had been two days since I had last seen or heard from Peeta Mellark. Glimmer had declared that we were to avoid Cato and his friends so that he would take her seriously, it was ridiculous. It was obvious he didn't care about her.  
I constantly checked my phone to see if he had texted, but was always left disappointed. I couldn't believe I missed someone I had only met twice, but there was something unusual about Peeta.  
"Just text him already.." Delly whispered to me as we cleared the table after dinner. "It's obvious you want to see him again."  
"I don't know what you're talking about." I reply haughtily, hoping she can't see my reddening face. She can.  
"You would be so cute together!" she squeals. "And your kids would be hot."  
"You are being ridiculous. I've spoken to the boy twice and you're already planning our wedding!"  
I drop the plates carelessly into the sink.  
"I didn't say anything about planning a wedding..." Delly grins mischeviously. "That must have been you."  
"I have not!" I huff, storming out of the kitchen and into my bedroom.  
Damn Delly, now I can't get the image of we in a wedding dress and Peeta in a suit out of my head. And our babies would be adorable.  
I groan to myself. What is wrong with me? Just then Glimmer barges in and announces that we are going clubbing and that I was too wear something that "for once didn't make me look like I had been dressed by a blind woman working in a charity shop."  
I ignore her remark, and awkwardly clear my throat. "Hey Glimmer, can I ask you something?"  
She glares at me suspiciously. "What?"  
"Have you ever had someone you think about so much it's driving you crazy?"  
Glimmer nods. "Yeah, it sucks."  
"How do I- I mean, how did you get rid of it?"  
She grins at me. "Go get wasted."

As we walk into the crowded club, several sets of eyes stare at us. Everyone is in their best clothes, and even I look good. Glimmer let me borrow a dress and even helped me do my hair and make-up. I'm wearing a strapless red mini dress that has miraculously given me curves.  
Glimmer confidently leads us over to a booth at the side of the dancefloor, and orders shots from a waiter.  
I sniff mine hesitantly when they arrive.  
"What's the matter Katniss, never drunk before?" Johanna asks maliciously.  
"Of course I have." I say cooly, it isn't true and it takes a lot of strength to stop my gag reflex from bringing the strong vodka back up but I refuse to have Johanna make fun of me in front of everyone.  
As soon as I place my empty glass on the table another shot is forced into my hand and I quickly swallow it back, determined to forget those piercing blue eyes.  
"Let's dance!" Madge sings, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the centre of the floor. Normally the thought of sluttily dancing to the ridiculous club music would repulse me but the shots have given me new found courage. We dance for an hour, only stopping to drink more.  
I am dancing with Clove when I feel a pair of strong arms behind me. "Hey babe." the boy grins at me. "I'm Thresh, what about you?"  
"I'm Katniss." I shout.  
"You look so good Katniss." Thresh says holding my hands.  
"I feel it!" I laugh, grinding up against him.  
"Damn girl, you are on fire!" He whistles. "You know its getting kind of late, I was thinking of leaving. Want to come with me?"  
"But I'm having fun dancing!" I say, waving my arms around.  
"We can dance back at my place, come on girl. It'll be less crowded and we can get to know each other." he smiles suggestively.  
"Okay!" I beam. "Wait I have to tell my friends." I grab his hand and drag him over to my table, where all my friends are sitting looking confused.  
"Hey guys, this is Thresh! I'm going back to his place with him!"  
Everyones mouths fall open.  
"I don't think that's a good idea, Katniss. You've had too much to drink." Madge says warningly.  
"It's a great idea!" Thresh says, wrapping his arm around my waist possessively.  
"Don't be an ass, you can tell she's drunk don't take advantage." Johanna says glaring at Thresh.  
I glare back at her, how dare she try to control what I do! "I'm going with him, and I'm not drunk!" I say as clearly as I can, try and failing not to slur.  
"At least tell us where you stay?" Delly asks Thresh.  
He gives her the name of some apartment blocks but I don't listen, I just tug on his arm impatiently. "I want to go dance!"  
"Sure baby." Thresh winks, smirking smugly at Johanna.  
We walk away and I can faintly hear Johanna yelling at the others for letting me go, I roll my eyes.  
"I need to pee!" I laugh.  
"Okay, I'll wait outside, hurry though. I can't wait to get you home."  
I run to the bathroom and pull out my cell phone. It takes me ten attempts to diall the number correctly.  
_Hey, this is Peeta, sorry I'm busy right now, please leave a message and I'll call you back! Bye!_'  
"Hey Peeta." I slur. "It's Katniss, and I just want you to know your little attempt to play hard to get and ignore me has failed, I've met a totally hot guy and I'm going back to his place now. Just because you're super hot and you have ridiculously pretty eyes and the best jawline I've seen in my life doesn't mean you can ignore people. Good day to you sir."  
I grin smugly as I throw my phone back into my purse. I totally showed him.

It takes twenty minutes for the cab to take us to take us back to Thresh's apartment, during the ride he keeps running his hand up and down my bare thigh.  
When we step into the apartment he goes to his stereo and presses a button. A slow r'n'b song fills the room, and I almost blush at the rude lyrics.  
Thresh puts his arms around me and we start swaying in time to the music. Halfway through the song he starts clawing at the zipper of my dress.  
"What are you doing?" I ask, stepping out of his arms.  
Thresh laughs, and takes his shirt off. "You're so funny, Kaitlyn."  
"It's Katniss." I whisper, starting to realise I had made a mistake.  
"Whatever. My bad." Thresh shrugs.  
"I, I can't do this, I didn't want this." I say.  
"Hey hey, don't be nervous!" He says, slipping his hand into his pocket and pulling out a small plastic bag filled with white pills. "Here, take a little something to make you feel better."  
I shake my head. "I want to leave."  
Thresh is glaring at me. "Are you serious? All that flirting and dancing up against me in the club and now you're acting like you don't want this?" he grabs at the front of my dress and pulls it down to my waist.  
I try to push his arms away but he's too strong. Tears sting my eyes and I realise how much of an idiot I've been. "Please." I whisper.  
"Shut up, you're ruining this for me." Thresh says, pushing me up against the wall.  
There's a banging on the door which causes Thresh to groan and pull away from me.  
"Who is it?" He yells.  
I know everything will be alright when I hear his voice. "Katniss? Katniss are you here?" he shouts.  
Thresh glares at me. "There's no Katniss here."  
"Katniss?" He yells again.  
"Peeta, I'm here." I call back desperately.  
I can hear the sound of Peeta kicking the door. "Don't worry Katniss, I'm coming."  
"What the hell is going on?" Thresh yells. "You got some crazy boyfriend you called to come get you? Bitch." he spits, slapping me across the face.  
The door flies open and the blood drains from Peeta's face as he sees my crumpled dress and red face. His face fills with rage as he turns to Thresh.  
"What the hell have you done to her?" He shouts.  
"I didn't do anything. We danced and then she said she wanted to come back with me, then the teasing slut acted like she didn't know what was going on."  
I gasp as Peeta punches Thresh across the face. "Don't you dare call her a slut! And she was obviously drunk, what kind of ass tries to sleep with a girl who is wasted and doesn't know what she's doing?" he spots the bag of pills on the floor. "Oh god...what did you give her?" he yells at Thresh, shoving him.  
"I didn't give her anything! You better get out of here and take your slut girlfriend out of here right now lover boy before I kick your ass."  
Peeta starts to shout again but I grab his arm. "Come on Peeta, we have to go. Please."  
"Don't you ever go near her again." Peeta warns Thresh as he guides me out of the apartment and into a waiting cab.  
Peeta looks me in the eye and puts his hands on my shoulders. "It's important you tell me Katniss, did you take any of those pills?"  
I shake my head. "He tried to make me take one but I said no." I whisper.  
Peeta looks relieved, but then looks down at my dress. "He didn't...force you to do anything did he?"  
"No, he tried but you got there just in time." Tears escape my eyes. "Thank you so much Peeta. I'm so sorry, I feel so stupid, I didn't realise he wanted to..."  
"Hey, hey, don't cry!" Peeta soothes, wrapping his arms around me tightly and kissing the top of my head. "It's not your fault, it's his."  
"How did you know to come and get me?" I sniff.  
"I got your message."  
I groan, I had forgotten about that.  
"And you sounded funny, so I tried phoning you back but you didn't reply so I got Finnick -he's at your villa now- to give me Madge's number, then I phoned her and she gave me Thresh's address, then Johanna came on the phone and started yelling that if I didn't come get you then she would go herself."  
"Wow." I gasp, feeling embarrassed and guilty that I had caused so much trouble.  
"Hey are you okay? You're shaking."  
I shake my head as I feel sobs taking over my body again. "I feel so stupid." I weep.  
Peeta puts his baseball jacket around my shoulders then hugs me tightly. He whispers comforting things in my ear and by the time we get back to the villa I have calmed down.  
Everyone is waiting in the living room and they all gasp when they see the bruise I assume Thresh's slap has left.  
"Oh Katniss! This is all my fault, I'm so sorry!" Madge sobs, running over to hug.  
"No, it's not your fault!" I reassure her.  
"It is." Johanna mutters from the corner.  
"Katniss is okay guys, shes just upset. I'm going to put her in bed now." Peeta says, walking with me to my room.  
He gets a face cloth and washes off the makeup that has managed to remain on my face. He turns around whilst I put on my pajamas, then tucks me into bed.  
I feel ridiculous, and normally being treated like a child would annoy me but Peeta was just adorable.  
"You better get some sleep now Katniss." Peeta says, kissing my forehead then walking to to the door.  
"Wait! Could you please lie with me for a little while? I don't want to be alone." I ask shyly, patting the bed beside me.  
Peeta awkwardly kicks off his shoes then lies beside me.  
Without thinking I snuggle into him and sigh.  
He tells me things about himself and stories from his college until I begin to drift off. I feel him sit up, so I grab his arm and whisper, "stay with me, please."  
I must be dreaming when I hear him whisper "always" back.


	5. Chapter 5

Slowly I open my eyes, then groan as the sun hits them. I look around down at the arm that is draped over my waist in confusion, then look at Peeta lying beside me. Everything that happened last night comes flooding back to me, and I groan again.  
This causes Peeta's eyes to flutter open. Even in the morning he still manages to look like a god.  
"Hey." he smiles.  
"Hi." I croak back. I flush and cough. "Hey. Thank you for staying with me."  
"It's was my pleasure." Peeta says, sitting up.  
I almost die when I see he is only wearing boxers. He sees me looking and pulls the duvet up, his face red.  
"Sorry, it was really hot during the night, I hope you don't mind. And uh...it's morning." he apologises.  
I nod and try to look like I know what he is talking about. "I'm sorry about all the trouble I caused last night, I'm so embarrassed." I cringe.  
"Don't worry about it, we all do stupid things when we're drunk." Peeta replies kindly. "And it was all that dudes fault."  
I shiver at the mention of Thresh. "My head hurts so bad and the room is spinning." I groan.  
"Yeah you were completely wasted. I really enjoyed your voicemail by the way." Peeta laughs.  
"Ugh, please pretend that didn't happen!" I cringe. "I can't even remember what I said."  
"I can help you with that." Peeta smirks. "I think you said something about me being super hot and having ridiculously pretty eyes. Oh and you said something about my jaw too..."  
I pull the covers up over my head, my face probably resembling a tomato.  
Peeta pulls the covers away from me. "Come on, I'm just teasing! Don't worry, you're pretty hot yourself."  
I roll my eyes. "Yeah okay."  
"It's true! I swear I saw you in the airport and pointed you out to Finnick, I was so happy when you spoke to me on the plane." Peeta admits.  
"Geez you really are a stalker, aren't you?" I laugh. "Obsessed with me much?"  
"Pretty much." Peeta sighs theatrically. "But you are beautiful.  
I blush then remember I've just woke up and probably look vile. "Um, can you give me a second? I have to go to the bathroom." I stand up and run out of the room and into the bathroom.  
I groan when I see my reflection. My hair is sticking up at crazy angles, my skin is blotchy and there is dried mascara under my eyes. I scrub my face frantically, then attempt to tame my hair. After the brush gets stuck twice I give up and put my hair into a simple braid. I grab my toothbrush and brush my teeth, then deem myself presentable. I run out and collide with Johanna.  
"Ah Johanna! I'm so sorry." I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her up.  
"Watch where you're going next time." she glares, but her face softens and she leans towards me. "I'm really sorry about last night Katniss, I should have stepped in and helped. I feel like an ass."  
I am startled by her apology and don't know how to reply. "Um, no you were great last night Johanna, Peeta says you spoke to him on the phone. It was my own fault, but thank you."  
She shrugs and gives me a half smile, then goes into the bathroom.  
"Hey Johanna?" I call. "Why are you being so nice to me?"  
She pauses and I think she's about to shut the door in my face. "Because there was no one there to help me." she smiles sadly, then closes the door.  
I walk down the hallway in shock, what did she mean? Madge didn't really speak about Johanna much, just said she was friends with Clove. I had always just thought she was a bitch, but maybe there was something that had caused her to act the way she is.  
I am so deep in thought I don't notice that I have walked straight past my own bedroom and I am heading to Madge's I am about to turn back when I hear her and Delly whispering.  
"I used to feel bad for her, you know? With what happened with her dad, and everyone knows her mom is crazy and her family is dirt poor, but now I think she just uses it for attention. And the whole innocent act is starting to annoy me, it's obvious she's a total slut. I mean look how she was last night and you know Peeta stayed over? Neither of them have left her room. He's obviously whipped, poor guy." Madge sighs.  
I bite my lip as I can feel tears sting my eyes. Delly starts to speak but I can't stay to hear the rest. I run back into my room just as Peeta is pulling his shirt over his head.  
"Hey, I was just about to come looking for you!" He laughs, when he notices my red eyes he automatically stops and rushes over to me. "What's wrong Katniss?"  
"I was walking past Madge's room and I heard her talking to Delly about me. She was talking about my family and she called me a attention seeker and a slut." I sniff.  
"What? I thought you were like best friends?" Peeta gasps.  
"Obviously not." I say. "I feel so stupid. I didn't even want to come on this stupid vacation, but Madge forced me to. I thought she was being a good friend but turns out she was just doing charity work." I laugh bitterly.  
"Did you say anything to her?" Peeta asks.  
I shake my head. "No, I don't know what to do. I can't afford to buy a plane ticket home or to go stay somewhere else."  
Peeta puts his arms around me. "Don't worry, we'll think of something. I'm sorry you had to hear her say those things about you. I guess Finnick was right about Madge."  
"What did he say?" I ask, interested. It had seemed like they had hit it off and Madge had kept gushing about him.  
"Finnick's engaged." Peeta explains. "To a girl back home, Annie her name is. He's completely in love with her. He says Madge kept flirting with him and it seemed like him being engaged was just a challenge for her."  
"Wow." I murmer.  
"Want to get out of here?" Peeta asks. "We could go for a drive, Finnick will have to come too though, he'll kill me if we leave him here."  
I nod and grab my beach bag, then we head into the living room where poor Finnick was getting interrogated by Glimmer about Cato's feelings for her.  
"Hey man, we're going for a drive. Want to come?" Peeta asks.  
Finnick nods and jumps to his feet. "Yes please."  
"Can we come?" Johanna appears in the doorway with Clove.  
"Um, okay." I answer reluctantly. After hearing Madge, who was supposed to be my best friend, had been bitching about me I didn't know if I could even trust the girls I had hardly spoken to.  
"Do you even have a car?" I ask Peeta, remembering he picked me up in a cab last night.  
"Finnick drove a hire car over here last night." Peeta explains, jumping into the drivers seat.  
I sit in the passenger seat and the other three jump in the back.  
"So why were you all wanting to escape?" Finnick asks. "Personally I've had to spend the last hour answering Glimmer's crazy questions."  
We all laugh but I am hesitant to answer.  
"We were sick of being in the house." Johanna says. "Clove is the only person I'm really friends with. Glimmer invited Clove and said it would be okay if I tag along." she snorts. "They are so generous."  
Clove laughs. "Octavia is nice and Glimmer is actually fine. Sure she's a bitch, but she's a bitch to your face. I'm not really sure about the other two, but Madge kinda seems like a bitch."  
"She is." I say without thinking. Everyone stares at me. Oh crap, I don't even know if I can trust them.  
Peeta takes his hand of off the wheel and squeezes mine supportively. "Katniss overheard Madge and Delly talking about her."  
Johanna tuts. "What the hell? Didn't Madge invite you? What did she say?"  
"Yeah, apparently she felt bad for me. She basically said I'm a slut and last night was for attention." I shrug, trying to hide how much it bothered me.  
"That bitch!" Johanna explodes. "I knew last night there was something funny about her, she didn't seem bothered at all."  
"Just ignore her Katniss, it's kinda obvious with how you act around Peeta that you aren't a slut." Clove laughs, but not unkindly.  
I blush and avoid his eyes.  
"Right enough of the girl talk!" Finnick says clapping his hands together. "Let's find somewhere good to chill out."  
We drive around for half an hour until we find a small secluded beach.  
"It's beautiful." I sigh, looking at the blue water. "It's the exact same colour as Peeta's eyes." I cringe when I realise what I've said.  
"Now who's obsessed with who?" Peeta smirks.  
"Ugh shut up!" I laugh, shoving him onto the sand.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **_hello! So sorry for the delay,hope this compensates. Not sure where want this story to go, please let me know any ideas/opinions you have! Enjoy._

We spend the rest of the day chatting and getting to know each other. Clove is training to be a nurse and Johanna works in a bar. Finnick has a sports scholarship at a prestigious school, he tells story after story of his fiance who is in the swim team with him.  
I feel a pang of jealously as I listen to him. Sure, I was having a great time with Peeta now, but what happened when it was time to go home?

The next week I spend every day with Peeta. I tell myself that I shouldn't see him as much, so it isn't as upsetting when it's time to leave. I cannot help myself though, there's something about him that makes me want to spend as much time as possible with him.  
Prim is ecstatic when I tell her about him on the phone. "It's about time you got a boyfriend Katniss! I was worried I was going to be stuck with you forever."  
"When did you get so cheeky?!" I ask, laughing. "Wait till I get back."  
"Ooh I'm so scared." Prim scoffs, I can imagine her rolling her eyes at the phone. "So what's he like?"  
"He's sweet, you would like him he's very funny."  
"I mean what does he look like? Is he goodlooking?"  
I shake my head at the phone, when did Prim get so grown up? "Yes he is. He has blonde hair, he's not very tall but he's broad." I smile as I describe him. "He's kind of beautiful."  
"Aw! Katniss and Peeta sittin' in a tree..." She sings.  
I roll my eyes. "Cut it out Prim!"  
"You know you love me. I'm sorry Katniss, I have to go, I have a date."  
"Okay, bye I love you!" I say, before I register what she had said. "Wait, what?! A date? With who? You're only 14, you're too young to date!" I splutter.  
"Bye Katniss, love you too." She calls before hanging up.

"Can you believe my baby sister has a date?" I ask Peeta, shaking my head. "I bet it's that Rory Hawthorne, he was always sniffing around her."  
Peeta laughs, then tries to hide it with a cough when he sees how serious I am. "Who's Rory Hawthorne?"  
"My friend Gale's little brother, he's in Prim's class at school." I explain.  
"You haven't mentioned Gale before, why isn't she here?" Peeta asks.  
I laugh. "Gale is a he, Peeta. Would have defeated the point of a girls holiday if he had come."  
Peeta smile vanishes. "Oh. Sorry. Where I live Gale is a girls name. Are you close? How long have you known each other? Does he have a girlfriend?"  
"What is this, 20 questions?" I tease. "We've been best friends for years, so yes, we are close. No he does not have a girlfriend, he always says there's someone he likes but he's never told me." I shrug.  
Peeta shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "He sounds pretty whipped."  
"What?"  
"Sounds like you're the girl he likes. Why else would he not tell you?"  
"No! You're being silly! He's just shy." I laugh. "You're just acting like a crazy jealous boyfriend."  
He raises his eyebrow. "Oh so I'm your boyfriend?"  
I blush. Damn Prim for calling him it earlier, we hadn't officially decided anything. "Sorry." I mumble.  
"Hey, don't be sorry!" Peeta says, moving closer to me. "It is an honour to be called your boyfriend Miss Everdeen."  
I roll my eyes at him, but I cannot stop the goofy smile that takes over my face.

Peeta drops me off back at the house at midnight, and I walk in with a huge smile on my face. It had been a perfect night, dinner at a nice resturant, then the rest of the night spent at our beach.  
Everyone is sitting in the living room when I walk in. "Hey guys." I call, wanting to get straight to bed.  
"Thanks for the phonecall Katniss." Madge says, standing up. "We were all worried sick about you."  
I look around in confusion. Clove rolls her eyes at me, Johanna looks like she wants to start laughing and the others all just look really uncomfortable.  
"What's wrong? I said I had a date with Peeta."  
"Normally dates end before midnight. None of us knew where he had taken you."  
Its my turn to roll my eyes. "He's hardly going to kidnap me. You know Peeta, he wouldn't do anything."  
"Course he wouldn't. Its not like he's a complete stranger or anything." She scoffs. "It's weird how like obsessed with you he is."  
"Okay first of all, he is not a stranger. I've spent more time with him than I've spent with most of the girls on this trip. Second, he is not obsessed with me. Third, mind your own business." I say, glaring at her.  
"It is my business, this is my house and my trip. You can't just stay out until midnight with random guys."  
I laugh. "Oh really? Did Glimmer get this lecture when she crept in at 1am yesterday? Did Delly when she brought a stranger back the night before? What about you, did anyone tell you off when you snuck in at 3am yesterday with two random guys?"  
Madge blushes and shakes her head frantically. "That didn't happen."  
"Oh it did, I saw them both running out the next morning." Johanna says, smirking smugly.  
I can see the others all trying not to laugh.  
"So stop judging me when you're acting a lot worse. Goodnight." I can't help but flip my hair slightly as I walk away.


End file.
